𐩪𐩨𐩱
Sabaean
Afro-Asiatic (Semitic, South, Old South Arabian) · historical / hidden variety
Sabaean is the most attested Old South Arabian language, used in tens of thousands of inscriptions across ancient Yemen — especially around the Marib dam, the engineering wonder that supported the Sabaean kingdom from c. 1000 BCE to its 6th-century collapse. The Musnad script (also called Old South Arabian) is the ancestor of Ge'ez script via early Aksumite contacts across the Red Sea, transmitting the alphabetic tradition into Ethiopia where it survives in Ethiopic Christian use today.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Sabaean
Water
𐩣𐩺
/maːʔ/
Fire
𐩱𐩪
/ʔas/
Sun
𐩦𐩣𐩪
/ʃams/
Moon
𐩥𐩧𐩭
/warkʰ/
Mother
𐩱𐩣
/ʔumm/
Father
𐩱𐩨
/ʔab/
Eat
𐩱𐩫𐩡
/ʔakal/
Drink
𐩪𐩩𐩺
/ʃataja/
Love
𐩥𐩵𐩵
/wadda/
Heart
𐩡𐩨
/lubb/
Tree
𐩲𐩳
/ʕaːð/
House
𐩨𐩺𐩩
/bajt/
Dog
𐩫𐩡𐩨
/kalb/
Cat
—
/—/
Hand
𐩺𐩵
/jad/
Eye
𐩲𐩺𐩬
/ʕajn/
Hello
𐩪𐩡𐩣
/salaːm/
Thank you
𐩢𐩣𐩵
/ħamad/
One
𐩱𐩢𐩵
/ʔaħad/
Good
𐩷𐩨
/tˤajjib/
Words compared
Compared with related Afro-Asiatic (Semitic, South, Old South Arabian) languages
| Meaning | Sabaean | Old Aramaic | Quranic Arabic | Punic | Ugaritic | Arabic (MSA) | Phoenician |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | 𐩣𐩺 /maːʔ/ | מין /majin/ | ماء /maːʔ/ | 𐤌𐤉𐤌 /majim/ | 𐎎𐎊 /maju/ | ماء /maːʔ/ | 𐤌𐤌 /majim/ |
| Fire | 𐩱𐩪 /ʔas/ | אש /ʔɛʃ/ | نار /naːr/ | 𐤀𐤔 /ʔeʃ/ | 𐎛𐎌𐎚 /ʔiʃt/ | نار /naːr/ | 𐤀𐤔 /ʔeʃ/ |
| Sun | 𐩦𐩣𐩪 /ʃams/ | שמש /ʃamʃ/ | شمس /ʃams/ | 𐤔𐤌𐤔 /ʃameʃ/ | 𐎌𐎔𐎌 /ʃapʃ/ | شمس /ʃams/ | 𐤔𐤌𐤔 /ʃameʃ/ |
| Moon | 𐩥𐩧𐩭 /warkʰ/ | שהר /sahr/ | قمر /qamar/ | 𐤉𐤓𐤇 /jeraħ/ | 𐎊𐎗𐎈 /jaːriχ/ | قمر /qamar/ | 𐤉𐤓𐤇 /jaræħ/ |
| Mother | 𐩱𐩣 /ʔumm/ | אמ /ʔem/ | أم /ʔumm/ | 𐤀𐤌 /ʔem/ | 𐎜𐎎 /ʔumm/ | أم /ʔumm/ | 𐤀𐤌 /ʔem/ |
| Father | 𐩱𐩨 /ʔab/ | אב /ʔab/ | أب /ʔab/ | 𐤀𐤁 /ʔav/ | 𐎜𐎁 /ʔabu/ | أب /ʔab/ | 𐤀𐤁 /ʔab/ |
| Eat | 𐩱𐩫𐩡 /ʔakal/ | אכל /ʔakal/ | أكل /ʔakala/ | 𐤀𐤊𐤋 /ʔakal/ | 𐎍𐎈𐎎 /laħam/ | أكل /ʔakala/ | 𐤀𐤊𐤋 /ʔakal/ |
| Drink | 𐩪𐩩𐩺 /ʃataja/ | שתה /ʃataː/ | شرب /ʃariba/ | 𐤔𐤕 /ʃat/ | 𐎌𐎚𐎊 /ʃataju/ | شرب /ʃariba/ | 𐤔𐤕 /ʃat/ |
| Love | 𐩥𐩵𐩵 /wadda/ | רחם /raħem/ | حب /ħubb/ | 𐤀𐤇𐤁 /ʔaheb/ | 𐎜𐎈𐎁 /ʔaːhab/ | حب /ħubb/ | 𐤀𐤇𐤁 /ʔaheb/ |
| Heart | 𐩡𐩨 /lubb/ | לב /leb/ | قلب /qalb/ | 𐤋𐤁 /lib/ | 𐎍𐎁 /libbu/ | قلب /qalb/ | 𐤋𐤁 /lib/ |
| Tree | 𐩲𐩳 /ʕaːð/ | עץ /ʕeːsˤ/ | شجرة /ʃad͡ʒara/ | 𐤏𐤑 /ʕeʦʕ/ | 𐎓𐎕 /ʕasˤu/ | شجرة /ʃad͡ʒara/ | 𐤏𐤑 /ʕesˤ/ |
| House | 𐩨𐩺𐩩 /bajt/ | בית /beːt/ | بيت /bajt/ | 𐤁𐤕 /bajit/ | 𐎁𐎚 /bajtu/ | بيت /bajt/ | 𐤁𐤕 /bajit/ |
| Dog | 𐩫𐩡𐩨 /kalb/ | כלב /kalb/ | كلب /kalb/ | 𐤊𐤋𐤁 /kalb/ | 𐎋𐎍𐎁 /kalbu/ | كلب /kalb/ | 𐤊𐤋𐤁 /kalb/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | قط /qitˤtˤ/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | قطة /qitˤtˤa/ | 𐤔𐤍𐤓 /ʃunaːr/ |
| Hand | 𐩺𐩵 /jad/ | יד /jad/ | يد /jad/ | 𐤉𐤃 /jad/ | 𐎊𐎄 /jadu/ | يد /jad/ | 𐤉𐤃 /jad/ |
| Eye | 𐩲𐩺𐩬 /ʕajn/ | עין /ʕajn/ | عين /ʕajn/ | 𐤏𐤍 /ʕajin/ | 𐎓𐎐 /ʕajnu/ | عين /ʕajn/ | 𐤏𐤍 /ʕajin/ |
| Hello | 𐩪𐩡𐩣 /salaːm/ | שלם /ʃəlaːm/ | السلام عليكم /as.salaːmu ʕalajkum/ | 𐤔𐤋𐤌 /ʃalom/ | 𐎌𐎍𐎎 /ʃalaːmu/ | مرحبا /marħaba/ | 𐤔𐤋𐤌 /ʃalom/ |
| Thank you | 𐩢𐩣𐩵 /ħamad/ | — /—/ | الحمد لله /al.ħamdu lillaːh/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | شكرا /ʃukran/ | — /—/ |
| One | 𐩱𐩢𐩵 /ʔaħad/ | חד /ħad/ | واحد /waːħid/ | 𐤀𐤇𐤃 /ʔeħad/ | 𐎀𐎈𐎄 /ʔaːħadu/ | واحد /waːħid/ | 𐤀𐤇𐤃 /ʔeħad/ |
| Good | 𐩷𐩨 /tˤajjib/ | טב /tˤab/ | طيب /tˤajjib/ | 𐤈𐤁 /tˤob/ | 𐎉𐎁 /tˤaːbu/ | جيد /d͡ʒajjid/ | 𐤈𐤁 /tˤob/ |
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